Tuesday, March 24, 2015

As early
as the latter part of the Spanish regime
to the early American period, MALABON
was already home not only to its bustling “patis”
industry but also to the rapidly-developing manufacture of cigar and
cigarettes.

The town
became the favorite home to several tobacco factories, the largest of which
were the La Princesa and
the Insular-Yabena
factories, whose products were marketed throughout the country.

What appealed
to most local collectors of paper ephemera were some of the local cigar and
cigarette wrappers or labels because of
their very colorful and imaginative
designs many of which advertised the products of their respective localities, while others portrayed the good
qualities and patriotism of the Filipinos, the beauty and modesty of local belles, and also
show-cased some places of interest and tourist destinations in the country.

Thus,
according to historian AmbethOcampo,
since majority of Filipinos are smokers, cigars and cigarettes may be
considered part of our history, and that fortunately our country’s culture and
heritage are somehow preserved in our cigar and cigarette wrappers. - JORGE DELOS SANTOS

How to Get a Grip on an Out of Control Collecting

You know the first step to solving a problem is realizing you
have one. This means you've got to recognize that your collection has
grown into a worrisome accumulation of objects that are taking over your
life.

Some of the red flags signaling that a collection has grown unwieldy include:

Repeated concerns and comments from close
friends and family members about the size of a collection or the amount
of time spent pursuing your hobby, like this is "overtaking your life."

Alienation from a significant other or
family due to concerns about your collection and/or repeated arguments
over the size, nature or storage of the collection.

Financial hardships caused by over collecting - you need to be selling instead of buying more.

That last point is often one of the most significant signals of an out
of control collection, according to Luray. Collections that have
outgrown their allotted space present a number of issues. These include
not being able to locate items in your collection that may be of value
(ie. I know I have one of those but I don't know where it is),
collections that are deteriorating and
ruined because of improper storage, or those in which a collector has no
earthly idea how many items they have or how much their collection is
worth.

Taming That Beast of a Collection

Getting a vast collection back on track can take anywhere from a
few days to a few years, depending on exactly what you've collected and
the volume. In many instances it requires mastering "the art of letting
go," according to Luray, and that's not always easy.

It can also seem like an overwhelming task, so breaking it down
into manageable chunks will be extremely important. Decide how much time
you can devote each day or each weekend, and force yourself to take
steps to accomplish your goal. Good intentions won't cut it.

Of course, this is easier for some collectors than others.
Problems arise when there is an extreme emotional attachment to objects.
If you just can't get a grip on your feelings about your possessions
but they're overtaking your life, it might be time to get some
professional counseling.

If you're not quite to that point and want to give it a go on your own, follow these steps:

Put the Hunt on Hold - Until you get things under
control, try to use the time you would normally spend shopping to add to
your collection to get it into a manageable state. That might be hard,
especially at first, but do your best. You'll quickly see that you do
indeed have time to work on culling, organizing and displaying your
collection if you give up some or all of your shopping time temporarily.

Cull Your Collection - Start by culling out the
things you really don't want. There's no collector on earth that hasn't
accumulated some impulse purchases they probably should have never
brought home. Whether they're expensive splurges or something that
turned out to be basically worthless, determine the value
and get rid of the items that you really don't enjoy owning anymore.
Sell them online if you can, and if they aren't worth that much effort
consider donating the items to a charity-operated thrift store or other
entity that would welcome them. If you collect dolls, for example, give your usable items to children's home. You can feel good about helping yourself and others at the same time.

Inventory and Organize - Once you've decided
what to keep, get organized. Most out of control collectors have no clue
about what they have and what their collections are worth so break
things down into manageable batches and start taking inventory. Catalog
as much information about each item as you can such as what it is, where
you got it, how much you paid for it and what it is currently worth, if
you know. If you don't know current values, you can at least document
the collection and then go back to fill in that blanks regarding value
as you have time to do further research.

Curate the Items You Want to Display - Once you
have your collection organized, determine which of those items you want
to display in your home to enjoy and share with others. For instance, a
rug collector can display the rugs on several beds and walls in a home, and then properly store the rest of the collection.

If you have lots of small collectibles, clean out those shelves
and display cabinets and start over. Try to group similar items or
themes together to make the collection more appealing to the eye. Ask a
friend who is good at decorating to help you if you need some pointers.

You'll feel pretty good about your collection and yourself when
you get things under control, so be sure you don't get back into the
same trap again. You can certainly keep collecting and enjoy your hobby,
but learn to be more selective and focused about your purchases as you
start shopping again.
Rather than buying anything and everything related to your chosen
collecting interest, try to focus on filling in gaps such as completing
sets or looking for rarities. Save your money for those larger
purchases that will make your recently-honed collection complete rather
than buying just to be buying. Now that your collection is organized and
you have an inventory of what you already own, it will be much easier
to set and accomplish collecting goals. Instead of having a burdensome
pile of "stuff," you'll have a fun and rewarding hobby once again.